Many of you were present at St. John’s on December 12th, 2021, when Vinnie Pannizzo attended the service and gave a presentation explaining his work with the homeless. He is the “saint” who picks up our donation of meal bags and blankets/jackets every week on Thursdays. There was a craft fair that Sunday and all of the proceeds were given to either our VISION project or Vinnie’s organization: www.missionforthehomeless.org. Soon after that, Vinnie’s well-used van broke down. The complete cooling system (radiator, hoses, and water pump) had to be replaced. The VISION team was very pleased to be able to cover that expense ($1200) due to the generous donations from St. John’s parishioners. THANK YOU! The warm camel hair coat that Vinnie is wearing was also a donation from a caring member of St. John’s.
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Our 'Give and Gift Bazaar' last Sunday raised more than $1200 for VISION - and Pastor Vinnie (Mission for the Homeless) was eloquent and grateful! This benefit sale reflected our commitment to outreach ministries, while strengthening our own church community. From left: Laurie Bennett organized goodies from Silvia Sykes, the Slatoffs, and others, together with vintage gifts from Karen Gleason and Laurie's own grandmother; Sylvia Ahern sold her botanically-printed art scarves; master knitter Sara Evinger sold her creations - and donated 50+ other warm hats knit by her, Judi Marr, and Sylvia Ahern directly to Pastor Vinnie's ministry.
The CNC retreat is a time when youth going through the confirmation program learn to set up their own worship spaces and experience God. The do reports on world religions to understand what others believe and what makes that different from Episcopalians. They even have a little fun playing board games.
In 2020 I lost my mom and I lost my husband, Jim. I still have my sweet Caramel, but she’s 17, and a dog cannot last forever. Put simply, pandemic or no pandemic, I don’t know where I would be without St. John’s – the love, the history, the vision, the community, and the place of engagement. Have you ever felt this love for this place – for this community? Even briefly? Maybe you felt it and moved away. Maybe you felt it once and then decided it wasn’t real. Maybe you thought it was the people and not the church, the person not the community, the group not the faith. But this year I have learned that making these distinctions misses the mark – these are all aspects of community, and they all matter. Ann Lamott tells the story of a Rabbi who shares with his students the importance of having God’s word on their hearts. And when a student asks, “But Rabbi, don’t you want us to have God’s words in our hearts?” the Rabbi replies, “Only God can put his words in your heart, but if I put God’s words on your heart, when your heart breaks, they will fall right in.” Our world is on fire in one corner, and flooding in another; we are losing loved ones, we are grieving, we are aging; there is real fear – not just imagined – for the future of our planet and our country. Is your heart-breaking to see the world so? Mine is. But good things are happening, too - new family members, new friends, new missions and new challenges. Are we celebrating the love alongside mourning the loss? Recently, I took a wonderful course on Climate Change and Activism from an organization whose mission statement is to create a socially just, environmentally sustainable and spiritually fulfilling human presence on planet Earth. And I asked myself – isn’t that what we strive for at St. John’s? Why am I looking at other organizations? What is missing at my home church? These questions haunted me. So, when I was asked to chair the Stewardship campaign this year, I jumped at the chance because I know we’ve got something really special here, and we need to step up our commitment or we could lose this most precious, bighearted community. We could lose the power of God’s presence in a positive community. In this campaign we are asking you to examine our relevance. We want us, together, to re-view what St. John’s has been, what it is, what it could be and what we want it to be for all of us. What can we do together to bring the values we share to the forefront? How do we bring our commitment to God’s love as a gift and inspiration to love each other, our planet, our island home, and our community? I believe that when we look at this closely, we will say together, “Pandemic or no Pandemic, we can make the world a better place if we channel the potential right here, right now at St. John’s.” Of the 8 Pillars of Joy, this year we choose to focus on these two: Gratitude and Generosity. I am grateful for so much, despite the losses in 2020. I know words of gratitude strengthen us, heal us and bring us joy. We hope you will use the enclosed 3 thank you cards and use them to exercise your gratitude muscles however you choose. And as for Generosity, know that Jesus spoke well when he said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In gratitude and love, Lilah Greene Dear Friends,
St. John’s has arrived at a crucial moment in our history. I like to think of it as a rite of passage. Of course, every year is important, but there are times when the stars align and we are invited to consider radical change that also promises great opportunity. We are, without a doubt, in such a time. The pandemic proved something once and for all. St. John’s is determined to not only survive but to thrive no matter what we face. We saw this determination before the pandemic when, after completing a strategic plan that inspired us to realign our staff, you all stepped up and funded this plan which included hiring a full time Associate for Congregational Development. We determined at that moment to not be part of the 90% of churches in decline, but rather, to invest and start acting like the 10% of churches that were growing. Vision inspires generosity and you all caught the vision and, Wow, were you generous. Giving increased by 20% for 2020. Together, we made a commitment to our future and completed the first step in our strategic plan. Now, we have the opportunity to take the next step in our plan: to enhance and deliberately empower our ministry to children and youth. This is especially challenging as Kellor is retiring. But she has graciously offered to make sure the baton is firmly placed in the hand of the next runner. I am optimistic because we have hired Ministry Architects, a national consulting firm that has helped churches across the nation redesign their youth ministries to meet the challenges of future generations, and we have formed a dynamite team of young leaders in our parish to work with them as we renovate how we renew and restructure our ministries. Our job in this transition is to make sure that the baton lands in the hands of the right person and that that person is properly supported by the infrastructure of our parish. What is clear to me is that we need to be in a position to do a national search process and attract a full-time youth and family director that will bring the talent we need to put our ministry renovation plan into action. Attracting new families to St. John’s is something we all want. Now we need to step up and fund this desire. What an amazing opportunity we have! So, as you prayerfully consider your pledge for 2022, I ask you to do two things:
Vision is the bedrock of generosity and generosity leads to gratitude which leads to more generosity. Now is a time like no other in our history. My prayer is that you will continue to be inspired by the vision so that together, we each can do what we can to assure that St. John’s meets the future with great faith and joy! Onward, The Rev. Scott Denman+ Rector CELEBRATING CONNECTION – STEWARDSHIP Prepare to be entertained and challenged Are you ready to gather for some truly lively conversation? in person in the Vestry Room or by Zoom? The 2022 Stewardship Committee is inviting You Come to any of 10 Gatherings scheduled between October 2 – 13 and share what you think about the past, present and future of St. John’s – but through a different lens. We want people to talk about what they love and what is inspiring at our spiritual home, but we also want to have people brainstorm about what is missing, what keeps people away, what disappoints, and what discourages people from being loud and proud about St. John’s - what we can do more of and what we can do better. Help St. John’s create the new normal! Each session will seek to explore a unique aspect of our mission. Each team will take notes and the notes will be visible to the next groups and ALL the thoughts will be brought together on November 14, to discuss how we can all invest in and inspire the FUTURE of St. John’s. If you are a facilitator, scribe or a host, please do not fill out a doodle for your session.
To attend in person click here. To attend online click here. An email will be sent for online zoom links prior to your session. Thanks to our technology investment, these will be hybrid gatherings to ensure everyone feels welcomed and safe - attendance is limited to 8 in the Vestry Room and 8 online for the same date. We need your voice to be part of the conversation so sign up NOW. It was a fun week of bidding and getting together on Zoom for St. John’s auction. Hosts Jim MacIlvaine and Laurie Bennett showcased people in eight ministries through videos and stories during the live portion on August 29th. If you didn’t see it, you can still view it on St. John’s YouTube channel by clicking this link. And if you didn’t pledge that day, you still have an opportunity: send or leave a check at St. John's by September 20 or pay online through the St. John's website. https://onrealm.org/StJohnsOakland/-/give/now and choose" 2021 Auction" on the right side drop down menu. The online auction ended on August 30th. Sixty-six bidders from all over the country were reminded via email, “You’ve been outbid!”, and this reminder generated spirited bidding right up until the 5 p.m. closing. At this date, the auction has totaled over $35,000 in gross proceeds. This money will be distributed between the specific funds highlighted in the live auction and put to good use for the general operations of St. John’s. But none of this was possible without a huge cast of talented volunteers. Planning began in March when Deacon Jon reported to leadership groups about the possible live streaming options that would allow St. John’s to meet in person and continue an online worship experience. The biennial auction was the right vehicle to broadcast this need and the Auction Committee was in action soon. MANY THANKS and ADMIRATION go to this amazing core group. Laurie Bennett – chair Judi Marr – auction database coordinator Sylvia Ahern – database analyst and video creator Jim MacIlvaine – auction host and script writer Scott Denman – Da Rector Productions for videos and showcase creation Jon Owens – Zoom technician extraordinaire and Communications Carolyn George – Celebrating Connection Happy Hour planner and chef Ken Fuller – Donation coordinator and Happy Hour Pat Harden – Communications Kathy Araugo – mailings, forms, office support This is the cast of workers for whom my gratitude is boundless: Lisa Cadwalader, Jerry and Bonnie Moran, Silvia Sykes, Anne Meyer, Sean Van Straatum, Greg Slatoff, Alex Slatoff, Molly Marion, Michelle Ziegmann, Laura Kroger, Katie Kroger, Ben Riggs, Abby Smith, Kellor Smith, Sarah Jones. And the event would not have been successful without the wonderful donations from our parishioners: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Laurie Bennett Our own Audrey Byrne, working with the CCC (California Conservation Corps). this year, (she started July 1) deployed at the Dixie fire, taking care of evacuee livestock at the Quincy fairgrounds. She is there doing logistical support for the fire fighting effort.
By Ian Storrar
On July 2nd, the news broke that UK Olympian Alice Dearing would not be allowed to wear the swim cap of her choice. This wasn't some dispute over fashion, as you may have first assumed. Instead, it was about racism. Systemic racism built into institutions like the International Swimming Federation. The news (link to Guardian article) reporting explained of the gear in question that "the caps did not fit “the natural form of the head.” In case you haven't figured it out or read the article, Alice Dearing is black. She's "the first black female swimmer to represent Team GB at the Olympics." You see, swim caps are designed for hair like mine - white people hair. The article does a great job explaining why this is a problem and why it's racist. I'll move on. Sticking to the British, we heard this week about two-time Paralympic world champion sprinter Olivia Breen who was told by an official that her shorts were too short. The Washington Post covers the story here. This story is about sexism, at least. To state the obvious, we've heard no stories of male sprinters being told by officials their shorts are too tight. On the same day (July 20th - just yesterday), US Paralympian swimmer Becca Meyers' regretfully pulled out of the Olympics because the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee hadn't allowed for her Personal Care Assistant to go with her, even though she is deaf and blind and has been traumatized before by being left alone without adequate support to find food. These stories are examples of how institutions and those in power can do great harm to individuals and persist ongoing forms of racism, sexism, ableism, and other oppressive structures in society. In some of these instances, it's unlikely that anyone intends to be part of this pattern and are simply being obtuse. Nevertheless, I believe we need to call these situations out, as Christians and as members of our society (never mind sitting in a CRT master's seminar) and do something. So, while you may feel the need to contact the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (please do), I invite you to take action in a couple of local, direct ways that can help to change the patterns of injustice we are surrounded by:
Peace, Ian *Join us on Thursday July 22nd, because sometimes we just need to elevate youth voices, especially from underrepresented communities, in voicing their needs (rather than assuming we know what's "normal"). **As I write this, we need just 10 more signatures to hit the next milestone. Help us over the top and beyond. Who knows, maybe one of the people needing this service will be in the Paralympics one day - but actually that shouldn't and doesn't matter. Everyone has a right to adequate public transit regardless of ability or whether they will be in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Let's start in Oakland and Alameda County and hope we don't have these stories 3 years from now. By Kellor Smith With Covid cancelling the Mission Trip to the Texas/Mexico border in 2020 and 2021, this June the Youth Group decided to change gears. They became a cleaning crew for the Chapel at the Bishop’s Ranch near the Russian River and St. Andrew’s Church near Guerneville, both struggling with diminished help because of the pandemic.It wasn’t easy. The to-do lists were long. But they decided who was doing what and got to work. Here is one of three pages of the list for St. Andrews. Left uncleaned for more than 15 months, cobwebs, dust, dirt and candle wax were everywhere. Here is Molly cleaning dust from rug. It was on the hymnals, walls, rugs, and alters. Worship spaces have been unused and there was dust all around including on the prayer books and hymnals. Comments ranged from “Ew, I am not touching that!” “OMG, what just fell on my head?” to “Sorry spider, but it is time for you to move on.” But getting these places clean was satisfying. Here is a photo of their happy dance as they closed the door on a clean, polished chapel at The Bishop’s Ranch At St. Andrew’s they were asked to fix the organ, definitely beyond their pay grade. But once they untangled all the cords, they realized that the wrong cord was plugged in, solving the problem. There was plenty of anxiety about leaving their homes. Being in the big world after months of sheltering in place was a huge step. To help with the anxiety, they walked the Labyrinth, had group talks and prayed each day. And they had some fun, playing Scattergories and kayaking on the Russian River the last day. Next year’s mission trip: After being cancelled twice, plans are now in place for the Mission Trip to the Texas/Mexico border next year, summer 2022. Mark your calendars and think about friends who might want to join. Third time’s a charm. |